Solid graphite rings are made from sheet graphite in the form of a foil available as GRAFOIL from Union Carbide Company and from braided graphite strands. Sheet graphite or GRAFOIL is brittle and tends to break unevenly when it is formed into a ring thus it is known to pass the sheet graphite through a device which "crinkles" or scores the surface of the sheet so that it may be manipulated into a desired shape. The crinkled or base graphite can then be wrapped around a dowel and layered to a desired thickness. The wrapped base graphite is rendered into a solid ring by compression in a press. Heretofore, the base graphite has been cut into strips having a width commensurate with the desired thickness of the finished ring; for example, the base graphite may be cut into strips one-half inch wide to form a ring having a one-quarter inch thickness. In the processes with which I am familiar, the base graphite strips are manually fed into a wrapping device which wraps the strip around a dowel corresponding to the desired inside diameter of the finished ring. The coiled strip is then manually removed and placed in a die for compression and thereafter removed. Essentially, the same process is followed in utilizing braided graphite as the base graphite. It may be seen that the formation of rings in this manner is a tedious and labor intensive process, which leaves much to be desired in terms of efficiency and economy.